FINDINGS SHOW BROKER INVOLVEMENT AT RENEWAL TIME LEADS TO GREATER SME SATISFACTION

New research from Vero has found that providing advice at renewal time has a significant bearing on the level of SME satisfaction with their broker. 

The second issue of the Vero SME Insurance Index 2022, found that broker clients who were provided advice at renewal time were significantly more satisfied with their broker (82%) than those who renewed their existing policies without review or amends from their broker (13% satisfied). 

Vero Executive Manager Sonya Whitney says, “This highlights the need for brokers to engage with SMEs at renewal time and work collaboratively with them to reassess their cover and identify any changes that may need to be made.

“While we’ve found that most broker clients appear to be benefitting from expert advice at renewal time, 19% simply renewed their insurance as is with no review. This suggests that there is a substantial proportion of SME broker clients who have renewed their insurance without the benefit of their broker’s expert analysis and advice.” 

Whitney says the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years means a number of businesses will have made changes, and there may be a significant proportion of SMEs who haven’t taken advantage of the annual renewal process to ensure that their insurance reflects any changes to business needs. 

Whitney says, "Brokers could consider taking the annual renewal of policies as an opportunity to get in touch with SMEs clients they haven’t heard from, to ensure they have the right cover for their needs and to grow their relationship. 

“Brokers are in an excellent position to educate clients about risks that they may not think about, and renewal time is a good opportunity to share stories and case studies to educate SMEs who may not be thinking about possible risks at this point in time.”

“In order to mitigate the impact of underinsurance as a result of inflation, brokers should remind SMEs that renewals are an important time to check over their policy limits and sum insured values to make sure they're fully covered at claim time.”

When it comes to groups that are more likely to renew their cover without seeking guidance from their broker, Whitney says “Women decision makers and those who are under 45 often renew themselves, so brokers could consider proactively communicating the importance of undertaking a regular review and the value of advice to these segments.

Whitney says brokers may want to keep these demographics in mind when contacting clients at renewal time that may be statistically more likely to renew their insurance without their broker.